Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Vulnerable Wild Small Ruminants, Iran, 2014–2016

In 2014–2016, >1,000 wild goats and sheep in 4 northern and central provinces of Iran died from peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) infection. Partial nucleoprotein sequencing of PPRV from 3 animals showed a close relationship to lineage 4 strains from China. Control measures are needed to preserve vulnerable ruminant populations.

In 2014-2016, >1,000 wild goats and sheep in 4 northern and central provinces of Iran died from peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) infection. Partial nucleoprotein sequencing of PPRV from 3 animals showed a close relationship to lineage 4 strains from China. Control measures are needed to preserve vulnerable ruminant populations. P este des petits ruminants virus (PPRV; family Paramyxoviridae, genus Morbillivirus) causes a highly contagious disease with a high death rate in wild and domestic small ruminants. Four PPRV lineages (L1-L4) exist in Africa and Asia (1). The disease was initially recorded in Iran in 1995 (2) and subsequently spread throughout the country (3). PPRV-L4 infections are endemic in Iran and several neighboring countries (4,5).
Wild goats (Capra aegagrus) and sheep (Ovis orientalis), which have become extinct in several West Asia countries, are considered vulnerable species in Iran (6,7). Although PPRV-associated outbreaks among these ruminants have been suspected since 2000, the virus was not isolated or characterized at that time. In 2001, at least 1,500 wild goats and gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa) with clinical signs similar to those caused by PPRV infection died in Kavir National Park ( Figure; online Technical Appendix Table, https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/EID/article/23/4/16-1218-Techapp1.pdf). An estimated 25%-40% of the wild goat population in the park was deemed lost as a result of the disease. In 2011, PPRV was the suspected cause of 550-700 deaths among wild sheep in Sarigol National Park (Figure) Table).
The last reported outbreak started in April 2016 in Khojir, a national park close to a dam that serves as a water source for wild animals (Figure). In 2015, a total of 110 wild goats and sheep were counted in the park, and by May, 1, 2016, ≈85 were found dead (online Technical Appendix Table).
We detected PPRV genome in 6 oral swab samples and 7 blood and lymph node samples from dead ruminants by using conventional RT-PCR and in 3 oral swab samples by using real-time RT-PCR (quantification cycles 31-34) (online Technical Appendix). In addition, we performed partial nucleocapsid gene sequencing of 3 PPRV isolates from 2015; results showed 100% pairwise nt identity among the isolates (online Technical Appendix). The strains shared highest nt identity (99.4%) with PPRV-L4 strains that were circulating in domestic or wild small ruminants in northwestern and southeastern China during 2013-2015 (8) (online Technical Appendix Figure); they were more distantly related to PPRV-L4 strains previously reported from outbreaks in Iran and neighboring countries (9,10).
Field investigations and laboratory analyses indicated that PPRV was the cause of mass die-offs of wild goats and sheep during 2014-2016 in several national parks in Iran. A risk assessment of PPRV infection in several developing countries in Africa and the Middle East and on the Indian Peninsula indicated that 63% of small ruminant populations are at risk for infection (4). Legal and illegal movement of domestic small ruminants into wildlife territories over short and long distances, within and across borders, increases the possibility of transmission of various pathogens, including PPRV, to wild small ruminants, which may threaten vulnerable species. Transboundary circulation between China and Kazakhstan was recently shown for PPRV strains closely related to the PPRV Iran/2015 strains, suggesting that these closely related strains have been circulating in central and western Asia for a few years (5).
Clinical signs similar to those caused by PPRV infection were observed in domestic small ruminants in villages around the Kharmaneh-sar Tarom region before deaths were noted among wild goats in the area, and the samples collected from domestic animals tested positive for PPRV. It is unknown whether PPRV-infected wild small ruminants may contribute to PPRV spread by spillback to domestic small ruminants.
Comprehensive field studies of PPRV infection in domestic and wild small ruminants are necessary to evaluate the occurrence and origin of PPRV infections and of different PPRV strains in domestic and wild small ruminants in Iran. Emerging PPRVs can potentially spread to all susceptible small ruminant populations in the region and cause extinction of local subpopulations. Furthermore, control measures, such as vaccination against PPRV and movement control of domestic small ruminants around protected areas, would facilitate the preservation of vulnerable wild small ruminant populations and reduce the economic effect of PPRV infection on small ruminant production in affected regions.
Dr. Marashi is a veterinary officer at the Department of Environment in Tehran, Iran. His primary research areas are wildlife health and diseases and epidemiologic investigation of wildlife outbreaks.